Trail Overview

Murdock Basin is a great trail that will get you deep into the forest close to several mountain lakes, in the shadows of Mount Cardwell (10,741 ft) & Murdock Mountain (11, 207 ft), access to numerous hiking and backpacking trails, and right to the edge of the High Uintas Wilderness.

Photos of Murdock Basin - FR 80137

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Difficulty

This forest road starts off easy, it is a well-maintained gravel road wide enough for two vehicles. At about a mile in, there is even a segment that is paved for a couple hundred feet and back to gravel. However, the road changes the further in you go. It becomes narrow and not maintained. There are potholes and some muddy sections. By the time you get to about 4 miles in, the trail is very rocky and narrow. There are large loose rocks, and water crossings up to a foot deep, and you should expect some mud holes. There are also several places with ledges about 16" high.

Technical Rating

Cruz Herrera

Jul 27, 2025

Open

Went up to echo lake with a couple friends

hunter ekins

Jun 13, 2025

Open

Handful of puddles, not terribly deep. Lots of side by sides on the trail

Sam cook

Jun 07, 2025

Open

Consistently bumpy and rocky, no real hard obstacles but higher clearance and 4wd would be recommended probably 4-5 difficulty. Very easy entry 4x4 road to some pretty lakes.

Andrew F

Sep 14, 2024

Open

This is a really fun trail to run that has some fun obstacles along with amazing views